Here’s how a 13-pound $646 chocolate egg is made

• Bettys is a 100-year-old chocolate shop in the UK keeping the Easter tradition of chocolate eggs alive.
• The Centenary Imperial Egg costs over $600 and weighs 13 pounds.
• Bettys makes and decorates its chocolates by hand. We got a look inside the factory to see how these giant eggs are made.

Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: Receiving chocolate eggs for Easter is a tradition seen in many parts of the world, a tradition that began in Europe in the early 19th century. One of the companies keeping this tradition alive is Bettys Bakery, who has multiple locations in Yorkshire, UK. The 100-year-old company is known for its elaborate, hand-decorated chocolate eggs.

Emma: It’s really important to Bettys to keep the old traditions. Everything we try to keep handmade without using machinery.

Narrator: Bettys’ 2019 egg weighs 13 pounds and costs 495 pounds, or about $646. Although, unfortunately, this particular egg is only shipped within the UK. Here’s how it’s made. The process begins with making a small mold and a large shell mold out of chocolate. Sometimes, the chocolate can be colored. This one is colored pink. A hole is cut out in one of the halves of the larger shell so that the smaller one can attach to it. This forms a cradle. Next, a trim made out of sugar paste is created to decorate the center of the shell. Decorative piping is added to the trim.

Emma: We use royal icing, which is really a dying art at the moment. In cake decoration, we try and train new people so it's not a lost skill, and we also really encourage handcrafted skills to be in the bakery.

Narrator: Flowers such as roses, rosebuds, and golden leaves are then handmade with the same sugar paste. Stems are carefully piped onto the egg using white chocolate that was dyed green. The flowers are then attached to the piped leaves. A medium-sized chocolate egg is made and will eventually be the center of the larger pink egg. This egg is painted gold, and the word "Bettys" is piped on. It's then placed into its cradle. Additional small flowers are then added to the golden egg. The two halves are conjoined with chocolate. Other previous eggs include elaborate designs such as butterflies, cherry blossom trees, and even little bumblebees. Who would you give this egg to?